Starting Strength

conscious direction of the athlete’s mind. In addition, the systemic nature of the movement, when done with heavy weights, produces hormonal responses that affect the entire body. So not only is “the core” strengthened, but it is strengthened in the context of a total physical and mental experience.

    Figure 2-2. Total-body power development originates in the hips, and the ability to generate power diminishes with distance from the hips. Note also that the farther from the center of the body a body part is, the greater the angular velocity with which the body part can move, enabling the application of power through acceleration. From a concept by David Webster, versions of which have been used by Tommy Kono and Bill Starr. This concept has recently gained new traction under the names “core strength,” “core stability,” and “functional training.” It seems rather obvious to the author that an athlete with a 500-pound squat has a more stable “core” than that same athlete would with a 200-pound squat.

    The squat is poorly understood because it involves the use of many muscles – more than most people realize – and most of the people who don’t understand it have never done it correctly themselves. This means that they can’t appreciate the true nature of the movement and the interactions of all the muscles functioning in a coordinated manner, since to truly understand a thing, you must experience it personally. The more people who learn to squat correctly, the more people there will be who understand the squat, and then, like ripples in a pond, knowledge and strength will spread. This process starts here, with you.
    Loaded Human Movement
     
    A basic understanding of the nature of loaded human movement – the ways that the skeletal system translates the force of muscle contraction into movement as the body interacts with its environment – is essential to understanding barbell training. A few simpl e lessons, which can be learned through observing the squat, are equally applicable to all other barbell exercises. The most basic of observations is that when a barbell is loaded, the force that provides the weight of the barbell is gravity. And gravity – always, everywhere, every time – operates in a straight line perpendicular to the surface of the earth. Gravity is generated by mass. In this particular case, we are concerned with the mass of the planet, which has conveniently organized itself into the general shape of a sphere – ignoring minor surface features like mountains and valleys – under the influence of this gravity. So the surface of the earth is assumed to be horizontal for this definition; after all, a rock dropped on the side of a hill still falls in the direction we define as down . This fact has yet to be disputed, and the principle has risen to the status of Physical Law: there are no known examples of unimpeded objects falling in a path described as “non-vertical.” The force of gravity acting on the bar is always acting straight down in a vertical line. Therefore, the most efficient way to oppose this force is by acting on it vertically as well. So not only is a straight line the shortest distance between two points, but a straight vertical line is also the most efficient bar path for a barbell moving through space in a gravitational framework.
    In fact, the work done on a loaded barbell must be analyzed on the basis of this framework. Work is defined as the amount of force (the influence which causes a change in motion or shape) multiplied by the distance the barbell moves. Pounds on the bar being a unit of force, work can be expressed in foot-pounds. But since gravity operates in only one direction, straight down, the work done against gravity consists only of the distance the barbell moves vertically. Any other motion imparted to the bar – i.e., horizontal motion, in a direction either forward or back relative to the lifter – cannot be considered work against gravity, although force will be utilized when the motion is produced. Rolling the barbell around the room constitutes work against gravity only if the elevation of the barbell changes, because gravity influences the mass of the barbell in only one direction – down.

    Figure 2-3. Gravity acts vertically, and only vertically. Any work done against gravity will be done in a direction opposite to its force, i.e. straight up. Any horizontal component to a barbell movement is not work done against